The Secretary of the U.S. Army has directed staff to update policies regarding the treatment of victims of sexual assault who request to be transferred off-base, according to a letter sent to members of Congress from Minnesota.

The letter comes months after a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation into the death of Pvt. Nicole Burnham, a solider from Andover, who died by suicide after being sexually assaulted, harassed and bullied.

Army documents obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS show it took 82 days to transfer Pvt. Burnham from her base in South Korea after she reported the sexual assault.

During that time, the documents reveal the 21-year-old suffered from harassment by her attacker and from cyberbullying by fellow soldiers and their spouses.

In the letter, which was sent to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Secretary Mark Esper admitted that "Army policy does not specify a timeline for completion" when a victim of sexual assault requests an expedited victim transfer, or EVT.

"Accordingly, I've directed the Army staff both to update Army policies to mirror the timelines in (Department of Defense policy) and to review the EVT process to ensure there are no procedural gaps that need to be addressed," Esper wrote in part.